


Winter Wonderland

by TheEvilestOfTwins



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 18:52:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11720397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEvilestOfTwins/pseuds/TheEvilestOfTwins
Summary: Some fluff between my player character Eli and Emily, a genre that is severely lacking on this site IMO. The happy parents take their pair of kids out to play in the snow.





	Winter Wonderland

Eli had been in Pelican town for nearly 5 years now, and every year was the same deal when it came to winter. No planting, watering or harvesting any crops. Only making sure the animals were fed and stayed warm, of course the heaters took care of that part. But for the first time, it was a little different.

With the sizable profit he had made from summer and fall, Emily had suggested they get some better winter clothes for the kids. They had some already, but they had been hand me downs from Jas and Vincent when Marnie and Jodi had heard the news about the pregnancy. As a result they were pretty old and ragged, making the new parents hesitant to let them play in the snow. Buying some new ones let them now do just that, and Alex could not have been more excited, as was her little brother Anthony.

While Emily wrestled with the smaller 2 year old to get him into his heavy coat when all he seemed to want to do was run straight out the door, Eli was convincing his daughter to sit still while he helped her tie her boots. She was nearly 4 years old and was only growing more rambunctious with time. She would spend the warm days with Eli outside, running around with the variety of chickens and cows, seemingly making it her goal to return covered in enough dirt to start growing crops off of her. 

"What are you gonna do first?" He asked in an effort to distract her, which seemed to work as she paused to think. After a few seconds and one boot tied, she had an answer. "I wanna do everything!" Was her excited reply as she threw her arms up into the air, knocking her wool cap off and revealing her wavy brown hair she got from her dad. Finishing up the other boot, Eli picked it up the hat and snugged it down on her head once more. "Best keep that on while you're trying that." He encouraged with a laugh as he helped her off the chair she had been sat upon and looked to his wife. She was done dressing up Anthony, who now looked more sentient ball of clothes than 2 year old, and they shared a loving look before opening the door for the excited pair.

Alex predictably took off running, going straight for the snow drifts where they seemed thickest while Anthony seemed hesitant. Where Alex had been adventurous from the moment she was able to walk, Anthony had always seemed reluctant to leave his mother's side. So while Alex started playing hide and seek with Charlie the dog, whom had been enjoying her day outside, Eli and Emily took to holding Anthony's hands as they walked him down the steps and towards an area where the snow was thin enough for him to stand.

As they knelt by their son, both loved the look of amazement in his eyes as they helped him shape the snow into different things. The snow was perfect for packing and as a result was malleable enough that they could show him how to make angels, blocks and lastly, snow balls. Little did they know that Alex had been watching from over their shoulders, and not a minute later a ball impacted Eli's back, who turned to find a giggling Alex holding another and an oblivious Charlie, busy munching on snow. Seeing Emily happily playing with Anthony, Eli knew he could take the challenge he had been issued.

"I've been in many snowball fights little lady, so are you ready to finish what you just started?" The unapologetic smile and laughing was enough of an answer. Eli knelt down and lightly packed a small pile of snow into a ball before commencing the battle. It raged for around ten minutes, balls being thrown all over by both parties, Eli missing more than a few on purpose, and Charlie happily jumping in the air as she attempted to catch the makeshift missiles in her mouth. At some point during the conflict, Anthony had stepped in, throwing a ball of his own at his sister. It landed short, but was a clear indication that he wanted a piece of the action. Emily decided to even out the teams by joining on the side of Alex, making it boys vs girls.

The battle only ended when Eli closed the distance between himself and Emily rapidly, picking her up and pulling her down into a snow bank amidst a flurry of squeals and snow getting mashed on him as he laughed. As they rolled around, they ended up with Emily laying flat on top of him laughing hysterically as snow falls from her hair. She glances up at him with the glowing smile that he loves so much, that he would sell everything he owned if it meant he could see it just one more time, and can't help but smile himself. They both laughed as they leaned in for a gentle kiss, cupping each other's now cold faces with gloved hands. 

When Eli opened his eyes afterwords to look into his wife's amethyst pair, he noticed a shadow looming over them. "DOG PILE ON MOM AND DAD!!" He heard Alex scream before suddenly feeling alot of weight very suddenly be put on him, followed very closely by a smaller weight that was unmistakably Anthony. The most Eli could do was grunt as both landed on top of them, increasing the already present weight of Emily. "Ok kids, you need to get off before we hurt him." The woman said with a strained laugh. As the Family vacated their position over him, he sighed in relief as he was able to breathe again, til he saw a vary canine like silhouette in the sky. Curious, he squinted but gasped as it got closer and bigger very fast and his vision was filled with fur and dog kisses, the impact of her jump having knocked him back over. "That means you too Charlie, Dog pile over." Emily called.

Charlie barked happily in reply as she stood back up and ran back to trying to find a stick she had lost. "Thank you honey!" Eli called from his position on the ground, now too tired to get up right away, hearing the giggle he got in reply. After a few minutes, he got back up to find all of them starting on the base of a snowman, the ball nearly the size of Alex. Getting up, he went over and lent his own strength to the project, pushing hard as he could, til eventually the base was nearly chest high on him. Gathering the other parts it was eventually necessary for Eli to get a ladder as it went 4 balls high. They decorated the head, giving it a pair of prismatic shards for eyes, a home grown carrot for a nose, coal for buttons and a mouth, and Emily loaning one of the brightly colored scarves she had made. 

Once the head was positioned atop the giant, the family took a step back admire their work. Anthony had fallen asleep, but Alex was still awake, albeit shivering now. With their day in the cold all done, the family retreated back to their home, Emily taking Alex to his bed once Eli had helped everyone peel off the now wet clothing, with Charlie following close behind. She had taken to sleeping in the children's room, specifically on the younger's bed.

While Emily got the youngest tucked in, Eli took to getting a movie on and some hot chocolate. Putting on a Disney movie that they would all like, he settled in with Alex under a blanket on the couch, the fire crackling warmly near them. After about 4 minutes, Emily entered the room and was greeted with the sight of the man she loved wrapped up warmly with her daughter, chuckling at the movie playing. Eli caught her from the corner of his eye and gestured her over, opening the blanket up for her and offering up the last mug of hot cocoa. She took it thankfully and snuggled up to the warmth of her husband, leaving her head in the crook of his neck.

30 minutes of movie watching later and she felt a soft nudge come from Eli next to her. Looking up at him, he gestured with his head down to his right where Alex had fallen asleep, curled up tightly against him. Emily had to fight every fiber of her being to resist the urge to let out an 'awwww' at just how cute it was for fear of waking her. Looking back up to him, she saw him mouth the words "Can't move her, bad position. If you want you can go to bed, I'll sleep here with her." She replied by kissing him and settling right back into his side, clearly having no intention of leaving any time soon. 

**Author's Note:**

> It may be short, but I like it. Also, in my head canon, the dog is a golden retriever, rather than whatever breed the game actually shows. Also, I couldn't really make out the actual color of Emily's eyes based on the in game art, so I gave her amethyst since I think it would be in keeping with her character.


End file.
